Vin_L
Member
I just installed mine. I used 6/2 wire from the sub panel and have it hooked to a 50A breaker. I have the wall charger set to 50A breaker and the vehicle is charging at 40A. All seems good
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Tesla Wall Charger Installed - Some Tips
- Thread starter JimmySure
- Start date
250.119 Identification of Equipment Grounding Conductors.
The proper thing, per NEC 250.119, is to use the bare(or green) wire as ground. It is precisely why its there.
I was surprised to learn that at #4 and larger sized conductors, OP could have used any color and marked it at the ends with tape or whatever near where it connects.
Regarding the actual function of the wire, it shouldn't matter much even if the white wire in OP's case was connected to a neutral bus bar, since eventually neutral and ground are tied in the main panel. Its still bad practice to rely on that. I assume OP connected the white wire to ground, and it would be at least a bit better to put some green tape near the end of the white wire at the HPWC. Still not to code, but better.
@JimmySure Ugh, that's even worse. You have the wall connector setting for a 60A circuit, but have the whole thing physically, including the wire and breaker, set as a 50A circuit.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Its less than half a percent overloaded as I stated, and the actual ambient temp is below the range they give for the 8% increased ampacity.
Marcust99
Member
Just had my Wall Connector installed today for the Wife's upcoming MS LR delivery. I use a 14-50 but it's nice to get that extra speed
from the Wall Connector, but certainly not a show stopper. Looks cooler though -)
from the Wall Connector, but certainly not a show stopper. Looks cooler though -)
ChrisMPK
Member
This is not actually worse. The breaker is sized appropriately to protect the wire which is it's only job. If you plug something over-rated in down stream the breaker will trip if the wire is running over-current at a risk of damage. The likely result would be repeated tripping of the breaker, which would be your indication that something needs to change. When that doesn't happen, you are demonstrating the over-rated nature of all the manuals and charts that you have been reading.
Sacramento
2021 Tesla Model Y LR AWD
I had a 90' run from my panel to the wall charger...I went with #4 stranded THHN just to minimize the voltage drop. It's only about 60 cents more per foot than #6 and pulls easily through a 2" PVC conduit. I ran #6 stranded THHN in the same conduit for a NEMA 14-50 outlet for friends with non-Tesla EVs.
Oy! sounds like overkill to me. 1" would be just big enough, and I could easily understand a size up(to 1 1/4") for ease of pull, but 2" and you are just showing off.
Sacramento
2021 Tesla Model Y LR AWD
Total overkill! But it's all buried and the cost of 2" vs. 1.25" PVC wasn't much more– and pulling 3 #4 AWG and 4 #6 AWG plus 2 #12 AWG was effortless. The building inspector LOVED it. With an earlier EV charger install I did at my house I used exposed conduit, so I went with 3/4" PVC and the pull was a pain in the butt.
Ground wire does not need to be the same size as the phase conductors.
Sage Brush
Member
Did you go with a GFCI breaker?Got the Tesla wall charger installed at the cabin. Normally I would hire an electrician for anything beyond a light fixture install, but it is impossible to get any contractors to return a phone call let alone quote and complete a job in the Cascades right now. The good news is this is a pretty straightforward install for anyone who has a novice level of home wiring. I think it took me maybe 2 hours taking my time because...well...electricityA few tips that might help others:
1/ You only need 6/2 wire. Lots of threads say you need 6/3, but you don't. 6/2 will have the two hot leads you need plus a ground wire. I bought the 6/3 and ended up using the 3rd wire for ground and just trimming back the ground wire. Not only will 6/2 be cheaper (6/3 is about $5-$6 per foot right now), but a lot easier to work with as these are seriously stiff wires.
2/ Make sure you get the right breaker. I bought before looking and got the wrong one. Not tragic, but worth opening up your service panel and taking some pics prior.
I went from 5mi/hr on 110 to about 45 mi/hr. Plus the Tesla chargers look cool as hell
The Tesla Wall Connector has built in GFCI circuitry and does not require a GFCI breaker. In fact, I think the instructions actually warn *against* using one if I remember correctly.
Vin_L
Member
The wall connector will not operate with a GFCI breaker
ATPMSD
Active Member
When you add up the hardware cost of the 14-50 the wall connector is only about $200 more, if that, and since you are running 6 AWG THHN wire you can set it to 60 amps and charge at 48 amps instead of 32 amps (mobile connector limit).
GFCI protection is only required, per the 2020 revision of the National Electrical Code (NEC), for new EV charging circuits that terminate at a receptacle (an outlet). If the equipment (Tesla Wall Connector or other EVSE) is hard wired into the circuit it will not have a plug, then GFCI protection for the circuit is not required. The GFCI is there for the receptacle, protects the user when plugging or unplugging the equipment from the receptacle. The GFCI could be built into the receptacle as with 120V GFCI receptacles used in the home (kitchen, bathrooms, garage, etc.) but for NEMA 14-50 receptacles and other 240V receptacles the only available GFCI option is to install a GFCI circuit breaker.
When the charging equipment is hard wired there is no plug or receptacle. The Tesla Wall Connector (Mobile Connector too) have built-in GFCI protection for the charging cable, connector that protects the user when plugging the charging connector into the vehicle's charging port.
The Tesla Gen3 Wall Connector is designed to be hard wired into the circuit. Since there is no plug or receptacle additional GFCI protection is not required. I could not find anywhere in the Gen3 Wall Connector Installation Manual that the Wall Connector will not operate when installed on a circuit with a GFCI circuit breaker. The only reference to GFCI is for the integrated GFCI protection.
"Integrated ground fault circuit interruption (GFCI) protection automatically detects a current mismatch
between power delivery conductors that would indicate that current is flowing through the ground (PE)
conductor.
If a ground fault occurs after 10 seconds of charging, Wall Connector will wait 15 minutes before
automatically re-attempting to charge. Up to four attempts to charge will be made before user
interaction is required."
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default...ng/Gen3_WallConnector_Installation_Manual.pdf
I think it’s even less then that when you consider the cost of receptacle and the neutral wire run. Also, you get to keep the mobile connector in your trunk in case it’s needed somewhere. Wall Connector is a good choice!
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